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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (Jair Bolsonaro) is under increasing pressure to explain his role in the vaccine deal with India’s Bharat Biotech. He said on Friday that Covaxin There are no violations in the contract for the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Covaxin’s contract has no problems and is not overpriced,” he said at a press conference in Sao Paulo’s interior.
The president, who was elected on an anti-graft platform, added that his enemies were trying to stain his government with unfounded accusations of corruption.
“I am incorruptible,” he said.
Bolsonaro’s comments came before the testimony of the two Senate brothers, who said they personally expressed their concerns about the deal to the president. The hearing is scheduled to be held at 2 pm local time (1700 o’clock GMT) and is the most anticipated event in the Senate’s high-profile investigation of the government’s response to the pandemic, which has killed 500,000 Brazilians .
Ministry of Health official Luís Ricardo Miranda (Luís Ricardo Miranda) said this week that he told Bolsonaro about the irregularities in the transaction.
Federal prosecutors and lawmakers are investigating the contract to understand why the government quickly reached an agreement with Bharat after the COVID-19 vaccine offered by Pfizer at a lower price was ignored.
Miranda told the prosecutor that he was under pressure from one of Bolsonaro’s closest allies and an aide to the former Minister of Health Eduardo Pazuelo, Alex Liar Marinho. Miranda’s account was supported by his brother, Luis Miranda, a member of the Federal Congress.
These allegations raise embarrassing questions for Bolsonaro and Pazuello, who are facing criminal and civil investigations into their handling of the pandemic during their tenure as minister.
On Thursday, Bolsonaro stated that Brazil had never paid or received any dose of Covaxin vaccine, and promised to take action if any corruption in its government is discovered.
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